El Paso, TX Swimming Pools & Spas: Safety Rules (2026)

Swimming pool safety in El Paso is enforced through two layers of law. At the city level, El Paso City Code Title 18 (Building and Construction), Chapter 18.08 (Building Code) adopts the International Residential Code (IRC) with El Paso amendments and governs construction and barriers for residential pools and spas. A building permit is required to construct a residential pool, and the pool barrier must comply with the IRC's swimming pool, spa, and hot tub provisions as adopted by the city - including barrier height, opening size limits, and self-closing/self-latching gate hardware. At the state level, Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 757 (Pool Yard Enclosures) imposes mandatory minimum standards for pools owned, controlled, or maintained by the owner of a multiunit rental complex (apartments, condominiums, cooperatives, town home projects) or by a property owners association; Chapter 757 does not apply to pools at single-family homes. Section 757.003 requires the pool yard enclosure to be at least 48 inches high measured from the ground on the side away from the pool. Openings under the enclosure may not allow a 4-inch sphere to pass under it. For enclosures with horizontal and vertical members at least 45 inches apart, openings may not allow a 4-inch sphere to pass; if horizontal members are closer than 45 inches, openings may not allow a 1-3/4-inch sphere to pass. Chain link fencing is prohibited for new enclosures built on or after January 1, 1994, and decorative cutouts may not exceed 1-3/4 inches. Section 757.004 requires gates to be self-closing and self-latching, to open outward away from the pool yard, and to accept a lock; the latch must be at least 60 inches above the ground unless installed on the pool-yard side at least 3 inches below the gate top with no openings greater than 1/2 inch within 18 inches of the latch. A 42-inch minimum gate height is allowed only if the gate cannot be opened except by key, card, or combination on both sides. Doors and windows of rental dwellings that open into pool yards of multiunit complexes are also regulated by Chapter 757. Operators should also follow the Texas Department of State Health Services pool rules (25 TAC Chapter 265) for public/multifamily pools.